


Future of the Sea

by BobSaysHelloFromNL, Ukunikki



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: After that expect approx. 1 chapter every year, Before HoO, First 15 chapters have been written, Fluff, Is this incest?, M/M, it's kind of bad, just treat it as crack? maybe, we wrote this a long time ago
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26082916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BobSaysHelloFromNL/pseuds/BobSaysHelloFromNL, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ukunikki/pseuds/Ukunikki
Summary: Percy gets kidnapped by Hera. Instead of making him sleep, his father then sends him to the future to protect Finnick Odair, son of Triton.This work has also previously been published on FF.
Relationships: Percy Jackson & Finnick Odair, Percy Jackson/Finnick Odair
Kudos: 9





	1. I get kidnapped

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Everyone, here is the first chapter. It’s a bit short, but the next chapters will be longer. This is a kinda a prologue.
> 
> Disclaimer: All rights belong to Rick Riordan and Suzanne Collins

Percy’s P.O.V.

  
“Good night, Wise Girl” I told my girlfriend after giving her a kiss. I went inside the Poseidon cabin and slumped onto my bed. Finally, after a long day at camp I could rest. Sighing contently I turned the lights off and fell asleep without changing into my PJ’s.

That night I dreamed of the last time I saw my Dad. Last summer at camp, when he told me I had to go on a quest again. Naturally, I complained a lot. Who wouldn’t? I just saved the world, and then I’m shipped of to another quest!

Sensing that I wasn’t going to agree on the quest, my father told me that I had a year to change my mind. Six months have passed, and I have been doubting my decision. He told me that the quest was important for the future of his kingdom. And since I was his only demigod, the quest would only succeed if I went.

But okay, back to the quest. So, my father told me about this quest were I will need to be sent to the future. He said I had to protect the son of my godly brother Triton. After that he just left, leaving a fishing rod behind.

The dream ended, and I opened my eyes to a flash of white light. When I finnaly got my sight back I saw Hera standing beside my bed.  
Wide eyed I jumped out of bed and my hand flew to my trusted sword riptide. But Hera stopped me. A dark green light shot from her hands straight against my head. I was out faster than I could say ‘Holy Hera, what just happened?’

When I opened my eyes for the second time this evening, I was underwater. I scanned my surroundings, but couldn’t find a sign of how I got here. Until I saw my Dad. How did I miss him in the first place? I hastily used the water to pull me up and bowed to him.

“Why are we here?” Was the first thing I could think of after standing up. “Where is Hera?”

My father gave me a sad smile. “I wasn’t in time to stop Hera from kidnapping you, I’m sorry for that.”

My eyes widened. “Kidnap!” I screamed in shock. I knew Hera didn’t like me, but to actually kidnap me? Is she nuts?

Dad gave me a look which told me to shut up and listen. “Yes, she really went so far to kidnap you, I don’t know where your body is. You’re dreaming this, Hera put you to sleep.”

I frowned. “Thank you for informing me, but what now?”

“Now, I’m going to ask you if you want to take the quest.”

“Oh... uhm.” I stuttered completely overwhelmed. “How is that supposed to work if I’m asleep?”

“I’ll just send you to the future. It doesn’t matter that you are practically a ghost now. It may even be useful.” He replied with a duh... look. “I can make sure that only demigods are able to see you.”

I nodded in acceptation. “In that case, I suppose it’s better than sleeping.”

My dad shot me a grin that looked exactly like mine, and raised his Trident. “Great, see you in six months!”

“Wait, what?” I managed to get out before, once again, everything went black.


	2. I meet my nephew

Percy’s P.O.V.

The first thing I saw of the future was a net. I got stuck in that net. But there was good news: I was underwater. I won’t drown, so I can wait to get pulled up.  
Or I just do it myself...

With a grin I commanded the water to spit me out onto the ground.  
I shot into the air, and with an arc I landed on the ground. Still strugling with the net, I saw a boy, around the same age as me, staring at me in shock.  
Do they still speak English? I wondered before I just decided to try it out. “Hi there, can you give me a hand? I’m kinda stuck...”

He didn’t respond.  
I sighed and muttered to myself. “Okay, so he doesn’t speak English.” Then a bit harder “YOU.” I pointed at him, and nearly fell over because of that dam net. “HELP. ME.” I gestured to myself. 

This time he did answer. He scowled and said in clear English. “Who do you think I am? I’m not stupid, I understood you the first time. But it isn’t everyday you see a boy stuck in a net, and come out of the water, while being completely dry.”

“Oh... So are you going to help?” I felt a little stupid and helpless. What would my best friend Annabeth say about this? She would probably say that I’m a real idiot and a seaweed brain. 

‘’Sure.’’ He said and then asked ‘’Well... why are you dry?’’ He walked my way while getting a knife out of his pocket and started cutting the net. 

Wait a minute... I put my hand into my pocket and felt Riptide. And something else. I emptied my pocket and saw what it was. 

‘’Want some sugar?’’ I asked while I offered him a sugar cube.

He looked at me as if I’d gone nuts. But then he shrugged and he took the sugar cube from my hand. 

I nodded satisfied, and uncapped Riptide. I felt the familiar weight of the sword in my hand and cut the net with just one swing.

The boy, who I just noticed had bronze hair, stepped away from me, probably scared of Riptide. “Where did you get that from?” He asked while holding his knife protectively in front of him.

I concentrated hard and snapped my fingers. “It’s a baseball bat.”

He blinked astonished. “Uh, no, it’s a fucking sword!”

Now I was the confused one. “How did you know that?’’ He isn’t supposed to be able to see through the Mist.

“So you agree that it’s a sword, but where did it come from?” He continued to prod.

Oh gods, how do I answer without revealing my secrets? As if someone heard my prayer, a seagreen glowing, twisted conch shell appeared above the boy his head.

I’m not new to this godly world, I know what a glowing floating thingy above someone’s head means, but I didn’t recognise the symbol. 

The boy also noticed the floating shell. “Oh my god, what is that?” He asked me wide eyed.

“Well, actually it’s oh my gods.” I couldn’t help correct him. Great gods, I spent too much time with Annabeth.

He just looked at me weirdly. “What are you talking about?”

The conch shell faded. “The greek gods, you know. They exist.” I quickly explained. “But that’s not important right now. What’s your name actually?”

“I won’t tell you my name before you explain what the hell is hapening!” The still nameless boy shouted frustrated.

I rolled my eyes. “Didn’t I just tell you that the greek gods exist? It’s Hades, not hell.” Then I sighed and sat down, gesturing him to do the same. “I’m sorry, I’m just in a bad mood. A lot happened today. Or well, years ago, I guess.”

He reluctantly sat down as well. “Tell me about it... What do you mean years ago?”

I bit my lip, could I trust him? Well, he is a demigod. “I’m from the past. I was send to protect my... Nephew.”

He snorted, disbelief shown clearly in his seagreen eyes that mirrored mine. “Sure. So you are telling me that you’re from the past and greek gods exist.”

“It’s the truth! I- just watch”

Suddenly the water shot up and splashed all over the boy. I also summoned a water made trident for myself, just for the show.

I raised an eyebrow at him “Believe me now?”

He blinked astonished “Okay, in case you’re telling me the truth, why are you here?” 

“Like I said, to protect my nephew.” I responded, this time more confident about calling someone ‘nephew’. I put the trident away.

“And who is your nephew then?” He asked me, still not fully trusting me, which is understandable. He just met me, and not in the best way. I kept doing things that confused him, and didn’t explain it very well. So what is there to trust? 

A familiar voice interupted my thougts. “You Finnick, are his nephew.” The water parted to reveal my half brother Triton. “And you are also my son.”

______

“You really are serious about this, aren’t you?” The boy, Finnick, asked incredelously after we explained the world of demigods to him. 

Triton and I both answered “Yes” and then frowned at eachother. 

Finnick also frowned. “Okay, I’ll just believe you, for now.”

I sighed in relief. “Finally! Wait a minute,” I looked at my half brother. “I have to protect him?” 

“Who else?” he replied with a silent ‘idiot...’ It was silent, right? Did he just speak in my mind?

‘Whoa, what? You can speak in my mind?’ 

He rolled his eyes at me. ‘Of course I can. Didn’t you also do it with Tyson?’

“Oh, well... okay.” I didn’t know if I should be happy that I could speak to him in my mind, or creeped out.

‘One, two, three, test, can you hear me? If you can, give me a sign.’ Finnick’s voice suddenly sounded in my head.

‘Dude! That’s my line!’ I complained to Finnick. Why didn’t I think of that one?

“Hey, where did my father go?” He asked me out loud. I looked at where Triton was standing just a second ago, but he wasn’t there anymore. 

I shrugged and smiled sympathetically. “It’s what gods do, demigods just have to deal with it.”

He nodded in understanding, which caused me to frown. He was 14 (Triton told me), he shouldn’t be used to his father just dissapearing. 

“So, tell me more about district 4. They’re big about water right? And what is it I have to protect you from?”

________

“That’s horrible! President Snow is even more cruel than Zeus!” Thunder boomed in the distance, but I didn’t care at the moment. How dare he just let children kill each other as a game?

“Yes, it’s horrible, but that’s the way things are around here. This year will be the 65th. The reaping is already next week, and since you are here to protect me, I guess I’ll be reaped.” Finnick responded, his voice shaking a bit at the end. A normal everyday person wouldn’t be able to hear it, but a trained demigod is.

“And this used to be America? What happened to the gods that are ruling the U.S. in my time? What happened to New York?” I questioned him, feeling sad for what was going to happen to my home.

Finnick shook his head frustrated. “Look, I don’t know exactly how it all changed. There was a war, district 13 was destroyed, and the Hunger Games started. How could I know what happened to your precious home, if I don’t even know what is happening in the other districts?”

I sighed feeling defeated. “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault this is happening. I just really hate president Snow right now.”

Finnick snorted. “Almost every district does.” Then he stood up from his sitting position. “Come on, I’ll show you my house.”

I nodded and followed him, but not before a single horrifying thought crossed my mind.

What happened to Camp Half-Blood?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so thats all for now. And to clear it up a bit, Percy doesn’t remember that he and Annabeth are dating. That’s why he referred to her as his best friend. Well... bye


	3. I get reaped

**Disclaimer: all rights belong to Rick Riordan and Suzanne Collins.**

**Chapter 3: I get reaped**

**Finnick’s P.O.V.**

  
Since last week Percy and I actually became friends. Today is the reaping and I’m pretty nervous because I think I’ll get reaped. Percy was standing on the stage between the reaping balls. I tried to catch his eye, but apparently it was impossible to keep his eyes focused on just one thing with all the noise here. He told me he was ADHD and Dyslexia.

One guy behind me asked me “Who is that boy on the stage?”  
And I almost said ‘’That’s my friend Percy.’ But I remembered that he’s a secret so I lied and said “What are you talking about?”  
He shook his head and asked the same thing to a guy next to him. He didn’t see Percy.

I sighed relieved and looked over at Percy. He was waving at me and when he saw me looking at him he bowed theatrically and walked to the microphone. ‘Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the 65th Hunger Games!’ I knew that I was the only one that heard it, so I burst into laughter. Everybody looked mad at me and I saw Percy wink before stepping away from the microphone. Just in time for the ceremony to start.

I admit that I tuned out everything the lady said, until she walked to the reaping ball of the girls. “Alice McCall” A girl, about 15 years old, quietly stepped on the stage. I looked at the other girls, and saw secret relief on their faces. At least my sister doesn’t have to stand there, if I win the game. She just turned 8. The lady said while walking to the reaping ball of the boys “And now for the boys.” I held my breath. Percy smiled reassuringly at me. “Finnick Odair”

I froze. Even though I expected it to happen, it wasn’t final. Now it is. Percy gestured me to come forward. I cleared my face of all emotions except one. Determination. If I want to win, the capitol has to like me. I confidently walked to the stage and didn’t stop till I stood between Percy and the other tribute, Alice. I shot a grin at the weird capitol lady, if I have to, I’ll make everyone in the capitol love me.

* * *

“so what now?” I whispered to Percy. We just got locked up in a room for visiting hour. He shrugged. “Dunno, never seen the games before, much less helped someone get out of it alive.” The door opened and I saw my little sister and my dad who is actually not my dad standing in the doorway. My sis ran to me and gave me a hug but didn’t let me go. I was shocked when I realized she was crying. “Hey, no need to cry, Jasmine.” Otherwise I’m gonna cry too but I won’t admit it. Eventually she let go, but still hugged my leg. “Father.” I nodded at him. He too just nodded. We weren’t exactly best buddies. He blames me for my mother’s dead, last year.

She was burned alive. They still don’t know what caused the fire. My stepfather believes that I did it. Of course he’s wrong, I wasn’t even near my mom when she died.

“Jasmine, could you give us a moment? I need to talk to father.” She frowned, but left trough the door, probably listening in on us. “You already knew that you’re not my father, don’t you?”

He scoffed. “Of course I knew, your mother told me she cheated on me. And we don’t look anything alike.”

“So, why didn’t you tell me!” I shouted, before remembering Jasmine was just outside the door.

“If you found out about your father then I had to kick you out. And since you know about him now, you are not welcomed home. Stay away from your sister.” My stepfather replied coldly.

Anger coursed through my veins. “Don’t you dare tell me what I can or can’t do!”

“I dare and I will tell you what you can’t do, because you are a danger to all of us!” He glared at me.

The door opened. “Visiting hour is over. You have to say goodbye now.” My sis was standing behind the peacekeeper. She ran inside and hugged me again. “I don’t want you to leave me, Finnick” she cried into my shoulder. I hugged her back as hard as I could. “I don’t want to leave you either. I will win and come back for you.” Even if my stepfather wants me dead. “You need to go now.” The peacekeeper ripped my sister of of me. My stepfather was already gone, of course.

The door closed with a bang. “You okay?” Percy asked when the door opened again. “When did you leave?” I asked, ignoring his question. “When your sister left. I found that I didn’t need to listen.” He answered. “When you were outside, could you hear everything I said?” If he did, so did Jasmine. “No, not a word.” I nodded satisfied.

“You know that there were a thousand girls out there who wanted to see you?” Percy teased me. “You just got reaped and you already have a fan club!”

I scoffed but still smiled. “I don’t have a fan club, you’re just exaggerating. And if I do have a fan club, it’s a good thing.”

“You’re right about that, it will certainly make my job easier.” He agreed. “When does the train depart?”

I shrugged. “Guess we’ll just have to wait for a peacekeeper to get us. Any tips to make the people love me?”

“No, I’m not good at making people love me. Especially gods, most of them want me dead. The others want to send me on a quest. Like my dad did.” He responded carelessly.

It was silent for a few minutes. “So, tell me more about you. I informed you about the future, so what was it like in the past? Start with camp, what did you do there?”

“Camp is amazing.” He answered with a dreamy look in his eyes. “ I used to teach the other kids sword fighting. We have an armory, blue food, pegasi like Blackjack, and lots more. Including a beach!”

“Sounds fun, I guess.”

A peacekeeper came in and saw me talking to myself. “Oh, ehm… I-I was just practicing…” I stammered.

Then he took me to the train with Percy right behind us.


	4. I prepare for the games

**Finnick’s P.O.V.**

“Okay, so it’s decided. I will mentor Alice, and Mags will mentor Finnick.” One of the mentors concluded. Honestly, I didn’t see the need to remember her name, especially if she won’t be my mentor. We all nodded in response, even Percy. It’s pretty endearing how he is so idiotic at times…

“In that case we will split for now. You’ll have the time to discuss some things with your mentor and then we’ll meet for dinner.” The capitol lady ordered.

Alice went into another room of the train with her mentor, while I stayed in the same room with Percy and my mentor, what was she called? Max? Whatever her name was, she looked old enough to be a grandma.

“So, what do we have to discuss? I already know that I have to charm the capitol.” I asked her. Percy silently tiptoed till he came to a stand behind Max. I discovered he really enjoys being invisible. I tried to keep my face serious as he gave Max the bunny ears.

“You know I can see you, right?” She calmly informed Percy with a quiet voice.

Percy stumbled and landed on the floor with a yelp. I stared at her in confusion. “Are you a demigod, Max?” I asked her incredulously.

“Of course I‘m not. And it’s Mags with GS and not an X.” She chided. “I’m blessed by Hestia. ”

I looked at Percy for an explanation. “Gods sometimes bless mortals who deserve it.”

“When do they deserve it?” I asked him curiously.

“When one of the gods think they are good.” Percy shrugged. “Some gods have a weird definition of good, but Hestia is alright.” Thunder boomed in the distance, which happened a lot more since Percy came here.

Mags chuckled. “That’s one way to explain it. And to answer your first question Finnick, we’ll have to talk about your skills, and survival tactics for in the arena.”

I nodded, my mind still reeling rom the realization that Mags could see Percy. He stood up from the floor and sat down beside me.

“Let’s start with you, Finnick. Can you fight?” Mags asked me.

I nodded. “Yes, I learned to fight with a trident and a net.”

Mags looked really relieved at that. “Great, so at least you’ll have a chance. What about you? And what is your name?” She directed at Percy.

“I’m Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I can fight with a sword. Maybe a little with a spear, never used a trident, and I’m horrible with a bow. By the way, I’m from the past. I can also breathe underwater, talk to horses and fish, control water and heal in water, cause earthquakes and cause hurricanes.” He summed up in one breath. “Oh, and I have some control over Ice too. And maybe poison, but I don’t want to do that ever again.” He added as an afterthought, the last part with a frown.

Mags and I were stunned into silence while Percy smiled proudly at this.

“Can I do that too?” I blurted out.

“Eh… I don’t know. To be honest, I’m not good with remembering the titles of gods. We’ll just have to try it out later.” Percy admitted with a cute blush on his face.

“We can figure that out later.” Mags interrupted us. “First we have to strategize. “

We nodded. “Can you run?” She asked us.

“Yes.” We both answered. “In that case you’ll run to the horn of plenty as fast as you can. Grab the first things you see, and then go. No alliances. Percy, I assume you are going to join Finnick in the arena?”

I bit my lip and prayed he would say yes. “Yup.”

I sighed in relief. ‘Thank you!’ I told him in my head. ‘You’re welcome. How can I help you otherwise?’

“In that case you will have to make sure that no tribute can see you, because there will surely be a demigod.” Mags continued. ‘’And you don’t want anyone to see you as the 3rd tribute of district 4 that only they can see. It could make you his or her target.”

Percy nodded determined to stay hidden. “Now, on to the other strategies.” Mags started.

* * *

I blushed in embarrassment as a whole team of stylists began working on me. It got even worse when they undressed me. I was nude. In front of Percy... He didn’t leave the room and also didn’t turn away from me. He just stood there laughing at me. I didn’t look that bad, did I?

They finally left trough the door, but I still wasn’t dressed. ‘Oh gods… Please don’t tell me I have to be naked at the opening ceremonies?’ I begged Percy. He stopped laughing and suddenly turned serious. It was a bit scary how his emotions could change so quickly.

“I hope you won’t be naked in front of everyone, but I can’t help you with that.” He told me with an apologizing smile.

‘Please Percy, at least get me some pants.’ I pleaded and if I had to I would’ve begged on my knees.

Before he could respond the door opened again and in came a woman. She looked to be around the early 30’s. Surprisingly enough, she was less capitol-crazy as the other stylists.

“Hi Finnick, I’m Dinosa your personal stylist. I’m gonna keep this short, here’s your costume, good luck.” She handed me a big pile of clothes and I mentally cheered. ‘I’m not naked!’

“See you next time, the trident is in the corner.” And she left again.

I threw the clothes on the floor except for underwear. I put those on first before I looked at the rest. There were slippers and… a bed sheet? “Percy,” I said out loud. “Can you help me?”

He chuckled. “You can’t even dress without me?” But then he stared dumbfounded at my clothes. “Is this a cape?”

I shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, is it?”

I looked around. “Didn’t she say something about a trident?”

“Found it!” Percy called out. He handed it over to me and I saw that there was a note attached to it.

“Instructions for the robe.” I read out loud and then paused. “So, it’s a robe. Great. Wait, no pants?”

“Be happy that you are allowed underwear.” Percy teased with a grin.

With the instructions we were able to figure the bed sheet out and get me dressed in time for the opening ceremony.

* * *

‘Your majesty, it’s a honor to meet you.’ A horse told Percy and then repeated the same to me. I looked at Percy who seemed to be used to these kinds of things already. Well, guess I discovered my first ability. ‘Likewise.’ I responded before I walked on, a little freaked out. Percy however stayed to chat with the horse.

Someone helped me on the chariot and I saw that Alice was already there. I smiled awkwardly at her and she shyly returned it. ‘I’m supposed to kill her.’ I told Percy a bit troubled by it. ‘No you’re not, there’s a big chance that someone else will.’ He responded, which didn’t help me at all. I looked in his direction and saw him still standing by the horses.

‘I’ll be in the crowd, try to find me. It will look like you’re paying attention to the crowd. Don’t forget to smile and wave. I’m sure they’ll fall in love with you.’ He advised me with a charming smile.

I tried to relax and smile back. ‘Thank you, Percy.’

The ceremony started. District one was the first to go. After that district 2, then 3 and then my district. My grip on the trident tightened and I stood as confidently as I could. Our chariot left.

I did my best to listen to Percy. I searched the crowd with a smile that may have looked a bit cocky. It’s the only way to make it look convincing. But then I found Percy and my smile turned genuine. He wore some weird capitol clothes instead of his normal orange t-shirt. I liked the t-shirt better. Still, it really helped to see Percy in the crowd of people I hate. He made it easier to smile.

With newfound motivation I continued to charm my way into the hearts of the capitol people, or at least their pockets so they’ll bet on me.

I heard some of the capitol women scream my name, which meant that I did a good job. I shot a grin in the direction of the screams.

The chariots came to a stop in a circle. I looked up and saw president Snow standing up and walking to the microphone. As always, he had a white rose on him.

“Welcome! Tributes, we welcome you. We salute your courage and your sacrifice, and we wish you Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.”

* * *

“Great job!” Dinosa told me after the ceremony. I smiled back at her, but then turned to Mags for her opinion.

She nodded. “It was good. You’ll have the 4th floor of the tribute center.” She walked away and we followed her.

When we came to the elevator Percy almost didn’t get in in time because Dinosa and Alice stood in the opening.

Dinner was mostly silent. We couldn’t talk about strategies because Alice and I weren’t a team.

After dinner Percy and I went to my room (which was really big). I was lost in thoughts and didn’t notice Percy heading for the bathroom until he called me there. ‘Percy? Are you alright?’ I asked him as I saw him standing next to a bathtub with clothes on. ‘Don’t tell me you need help undressing’ I teased him, remembering his teases when the stylists undressed me.

He shook his head calmly, but I could see mischief in his eyes. I frowned distrusting.

“Just come closer, Finnick.” Seeing no way out I obliged, which I soon regretted as he grabbed my head and pushed it underwater.

I panicked. ‘Percy, let go! Are you crazy?!’ I screamed inside my head. ‘Sorry Finnick, just trust me. It will be worth it.’ He replied, not sounding sorry at all.

I tried to fight him of, but he was older and stronger than me. ‘Fuck you, Perce! ’

I tried to hold my breath for as long as I could. Normally that would’ve been really long, but he took me by surprise so I couldn’t draw a breath before I went under.

‘Just breathe.’ Percy ordered me.

I stubbornly refused until I saw black spots. I bit my lip, but couldn’t take it any longer. ‘Fine. But if I drown it’ll be on you.’ I followed his order and was surprised that I didn’t drown.

Taking a deep breath I stopped struggling and calmed down a bit. ‘Okay, I’m still alive. Just, let go of me now.’

Percy’s grip on me loosened so I could stand up again. As soon as I got over my shock I pushed him against the wall.

‘Why didn’t you warn me before you did that!?’ I shouted at him, al my anger returning.

He raised his hands as a sign of surrender. “You wouldn’t have agreed if I asked you.” He stated matter of factly.

I scowled and kept silent.

After a while Percy finally apologized. “Okay, okay… I’m sorry. But you have to admit, it helps to know you can breath underwater.”

I rolled my eyes but had to agree with him. ‘But, why did it take so long for me to find out?’

He shrugged. “Did you ever try before?”

‘Well… No.’ I answered.

“In that case you should’ve just tried it.”


	5. He’s still preparing.

Percy’s P.O.V.

“Watch out!” I shouted at Finnick. He ducked just in time for the arrow to miss him. It was a stray arrow, fired by me. But then again, all my arrows go astray. “And that’s why you never ask me to shoot a bow.”

‘Come on, that was just one. Try again.’ Finnick said. I rolled my eyes and did as he asked. I aimed at the center and drew the string back. I let loose and the arrow went straight up. I groaned in frustration. “See? Most don’t even know that it’s possible for an arrow to be fired that way.”

My demigod senses tingled but I ignored it. Something flashed before my eyes and imbedded my foot. “Fuck!” I cursed before lifting up the foot that got hit. It was my arrow. “Dam it. I’m never shooting again!” I complained to Finnick. But then I noticed something weird, my foot didn’t hurt at all. The arrow went right trough it.

He laughed in reply. ‘Alright then. To restore your wounded pride, why don’t you show me something that you can do?’

My face lit up at that but then I frowned. “That will have to wait. You are here to practice.”

‘Can’t we just fight each other then?’ Finnick argued.

“I don’t see how me beating you up counts as training.” I retorted with a teasing grin. “And the others will think you are fighting with an invisible enemy. Which you are, to them.”

Finnick pouted but accepted it. ‘Okay, so what am I supposed to practice? Surviving, fighting with weapons I can’t use, or fighting with weapons I can use?’

“Eh, Mags advised us to learn how to make a fire. We won’t have to worry about water.” I told him. “And we already fight good enough.”

Finnick nodded. ‘But we are going to practice fighting. Otherwise the rest will think of us as an easy prey. Well, me. They can’t see you.’

“That’s fine with me.”

* * *

“We’re alone now.” I told Finnick when we entered his room. “Let’s fight”

‘Without weapons?’ He asked confused.  
I shook my head with a grin. “We can, but I was thinking about a water fight.” I walked over to the bathroom and turned the water on. When there was enough to make two weapons I turned it off again. “What do you want to fight me with?” I asked him over my shoulder.

‘A trident.’ He replied from the other room, not knowing that I was making the weapons out of water.

I made a replica of Riptide for myself and walked over to Finnick. “Here” I threw the trident straight at him. His eyes widened and he used his arms to cover his head. Lucky for him the trident stopped a foot from him and fell down. I blinked astonished, I planned to make it stop a few inches from him, so that means…

“You did it! You made it stop!” I shouted at him

‘I did?’ He asked when he was sure that I wouldn’t throw my sword at him too.

“Yes!” I grinned.

“Yes!” Finnick copied, before slamming a hand over his mouth. He had said it out loud.

I laughed at him, harder than ever. We had a weird kind of friendship, laughing at each other and then laughing with each other. But it worked for us, and that’s what matters most.

“Can we finally fight now?” I asked him after a while.

“Right, the fight.“ He remembered. “What are the rules?”

“First one without a weapon loses?” I proposed. He nodded.

We walked to the center of the room and took a moment to stretch. We got into our fighting stances. “Ready?” He asked me. I nodded and the fight began. He made the first move by swiping at my feet; I jumped to avoid it and took a swing at his head. He blocked it with the trident and used it to push me backwards. Unfortunately for him he forgot that I was stronger and older. I pushed him back instead so he stumbled and I slashed at his arm before he could recover. “You’re lucky it’s just water.” I told him.

“I still have my trident.” Finnick retorted with a stab at me right side, which I blocked. I countered with stabbing at his right side that also got blocked. I took a step back before parrying his attack and swiping at his leg, and then he took me by surprise. He slammed his trident against my sword and I almost let it slip out of my hand. He quickly slashed at my thighs and I couldn’t block it in time.

“You’re lucky it’s just water.” He shot me a cocky grin. I smiled amused. “I still have my sword.” This time I made the first move. As quick as my uncle’s lightning I swiped him of his feet. I shook my head and chided him. “Talk less and start paying attent-”

He grabbed my foot and pulled me down with him, not letting me finish the sentence. He rolled us over so he was on top. “Pay attention, Percy” Finnick whispered into my ear. I held my breath in shock. His face came closer and closer, until he suddenly jumped up and shouted: “I won!”

I blinked confused and in a daze. Then I understood; he held my sword in his hand. It was a trick. I blushed, half in anger and half in embarrassment. “You tricked me!”

He smirked. “Yes, yes indeed.”

I frowned. “I want a rematch. And try to stay silent this time.”

Now it was his turn to blush. “It’s hard to speak in your head while fighting.”

* * *

“Finnick Odair” A voice called out. Finnick and I were waiting with some other tributes in a room. He was supposed to show of his skills and get graded. ‘Good luck.’ I told him. ‘And pay attention.’ It has become some sort of inside joke by now.

He shot me a nervous smile before he entered the room. The doors closed and I heaved a sigh. I couldn’t go with him because otherwise I might get noticed. Actually, I wasn’t even allowed to be with other tributes, but as long as I acted like a peacekeeper or an avox it was alright.

I discovered that their lives were really difficult, peacekeepers weren’t allowed to move that much, avoxes can’t talk and are practically slaves of the capitol.

I sighed again. Where am I supposed to go now? Would it be suspicious if I stood up and walked away? I can’t stand not moving.

* * *

“So, how did it go, Finnick?” Alice asked. Everyone looked at her in surprise; she didn’t talk to Finnick much. “Uh, it went great. You?” He answered awkwardly.

She bit her lip nervously. “Not really, I-“ she got cut of by her mentor. “Be quiet! They’re going to announce the scores!”

At once all the heads shot up and looked at the TV. Sure enough, there was Ceasar Flickerman.

“District 1, Lissa Grills, 9 points… District 3, Tyrone Locke, 10 points… District 4,” We sat up straighter. “Finnick Odair, 10 points.” We cheered, before quickly going silent again to hear Alice’s score. I smiled in relief that he didn’t mess up, and I saw Finnick smile too. “Great job.” I complimented him.

“District 4, Alice McCall, 5 points.” A gasp was heard. I looked over at Alice who was close to tears. “E-excuse me.” She stood up and went to another room.

The rest stayed behind to hear the other scores. Most of them where not really important, but it was good to know that the district 10 boy and girl scored a 6. That meant that they would be an easy prey. There were others like those, a weak district 7 girl for instance. Sadly most others scored a 7 or higher.

#Line Break#

“So, Finnick, is there something bad about you? I mean, you’re good looking, isn’t he?” Ceasar turned to the audience who all cheered for Finnick. Percy didn’t like the attention that Finnick got, but it was a good thing. More fans, more money, more help in the arena. That’s why he is up there, charming the capitol with a cocky grin and a sea green suit. “Good looking, funny and a good fighter. But you can’t be perfect, can you?”

Finnick smiled at Ceasar and looked in the camera. “Well, I won’t say I’m perfect, but I won’t say that I have a bad side either.” Ceasar laughed a little bit exaggerated and the crowd joined in.

“Okay, that’s enough about your personality. Let’s get on to more important things.” Ceasar looked dead serious for a moment. “Who is the person you love the most?”

“Never thought about that…” Finnick bit his lip. ‘Percy, what am I supposed to answer?’

I thought about it. He’s single, stepfather is a dick, mother is dead… his sister. ‘Your sister.’

He gave an almost invisible nod. “My sister, Jasmine.”

The crowd cooed. And I heard whispers around me. “So sweet…” “Is he single then?” “He’s hot…” I looked in the direction of the last whisper in annoyance.

More fans, more money, more help in the arena. I chanted in my head, trying to keep calm. Why did it affect me to begin with?

“Jasmine, how old is she?” Ceasar asked interested.

“She’s eight years old.” Finnick answered with a far away look in his eyes.

“And why her, and not your mother or father?” he continued to prod.

“My mother died and my father blames me for it.” Finnick blurted out. “She burned to death last year.”

Ceaser Flickerman looked shocked. “I’m sorry. Let’s talk about something else then. Girlfriend? Boyfriend?”

Finnick laughed. “I don’t really mind the gender. Both are fine with me.” I blinked, didn’t know that before. We never really talked about that…

“Both genders… You hear that, people? It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, and he’s still single!” Ceasar announced loudly while standing up, arms spread to the crowd.

Finnick faked a laugh. ‘Oh gods, now they won’t stop chasing me ever again.’

I chuckled dryly. ‘No they won’t. Not until you find a boy-/girl friend.’

After a formal goodbye the interview ended and the next tribute came up the stage.

* * *

“Alright, listen up.” Dinosa told Finnick. “The arena will probably be a forest of some kinds, not too hot and not too warm.” We were standing in the Stockyard a.k.a. the Launch Room.

Dinosa had given Finnick a jacket and a pair of comfortable jeans, just like Mags had given me. I still wore the camp-shirt underneath it, of course.

“Tributes are allowed one token from their district, do you have yours?” Dinosa asked him. Finnick nodded and showed her a picture of his sister. I already saw it on the train, so I knew that she was smiling in the camera with flowers in her hair.

“Okay, remember you must wait a minute before you can step of your Launch Plate.”

“30 seconds before launch.” A computer voice sounded in the room. Finnick and I tensed.

He stepped onto the launch plate and I followed him. It was a little bit small for two people, but we managed. “Have you got more tips?” Finnick asked Dinosa while trying to look through me and at her. He didn’t succeed.

Before she got to answer the glass door closed. “20 seconds to launch.” I frowned in confusion, why did it close so early? Then it got even stranger. We went up already.

Dinosa disappeared from sight and we suddenly came to a stop. “Guess we departed too soon.” Finnick said, and I could feel his chest moving as he spoke. Why did they have to make these things so small?

“I’ve got a tip for you.” I told him quietly. And leaned in, just like he had in the fight. When our lips almost touched I whispered: “Pay attention.”

Then it happened. “10 seconds before launch.” The voice said, and it startled me.

I lost balance and our lips met. My eyes widened and I could feel Finnick freeze. But after a while my eyes closed and we both relaxed into the kiss, so we could actually start kissing for real.

“5 seconds before launch.” My hands went to his hips and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. In response he put his arms around my neck.

“Launching.” I felt us moving upwards again, but only started caring about it when it got lighter than before.

I unwillingly ended the kiss that left us both gasping for breath.


	6. Percy scared me… a lot

Finnick’s P.O.V.

We were in the arena, but instead of paying attention to our surroundings I was still thinking about the kiss. It was awesome. And a little surprising, I didn’t know that Percy was gay. He likes me! My eyes widened as I came to that conclusion, did I like him too?

My instinct told me to turn around, so I did. Percy was looking at the arena in awe. It was a cute look on him, I decided. I followed his lead and also looked around. It was a forest, and we were standing in a circle on the launching plates, in the middle of our circle was the Cornucopia. A circle of trees, making it look like a fortress, surrounded the two stories high horn.

“That’s our goal.” I whispered to Percy. “We quickly go there, grab the first thing we see, and run away.” He nodded and moved forward. 

My heart stopped for a moment in fear for his live. “No!” I lunged forwards to grab Percy who almost stepped of the plate. “Land mines.” Percy paled and nodded in thanks. I tried to smile at him but I didn’t really succeed, he could’ve died even before the games started. Only then did I notice that I hadn’t released him yet and I did a step back in embarrassment, but then I was the one almost activating the land mines. Luckily Percy also had good reflexes and was able to pull me back. 

“Watch out, the plate isn’t made for two people.” He pulled me closer so we were sort of hugging each other. “How long until we can move of the plates?” 

As if to answer his question I heard a computer voice start counting. “10, 9, 8-”

“There’s your answer.” I grinned. “6, 5, 4-”

“Straight to the horn, and try to stay alive.” Percy repeated. “2, 1, 0.”

Somewhere left from me I heard a battle cry, but I didn’t pay that any attention. Percy and I sprinted as fast as we could, it will only get dangerous if someone was faster than us. But someone was faster. The girl form district 12, I don’t remember her name, but she was the first to get to the horn of plenty. She grabbed a spear and threw it into our direction. 

“Percy, duck!” I shouted. He listened, probably not knowing why exactly he needed to duck, but saving his life in doing so. Was the girl bad at aiming, or did she see Percy? I needed to ask Percy if he remembered her from the training later.

Percy reached the Cornucopia before I did and found a sword lying somewhere in a pile of weapons. I almost got something too, but I got tackled from behind. My head hit the ground hard, which caused me to see black spots. When my vision cleared I couldn’t see the one that attacked me. I quickly stood up and cursed myself for not avoiding it. Now I was one of the last to reach the horn, at least I wasn’t dead yet. 

“Come on, Finnick. Let’s go.” Percy ran up to me, he still had his sword, but now also a backpack. I wanted to protest, but he already started running. The boy from district 10 ran up to me, and Percy threw his sword into my hands. The boy also had a sword, but clearly didn’t know how to handle it. I slashed at his right side. He blocked it, but didn’t fight back. I hesitated, he wasn’t a treat to us so did I really need to kill him? 

That choice was taken away from me as someone else shot an arrow at his head. His body tilted forward and fell on me, I quickly pushed him away in panic. “Finnick, keep running!” I heard Percy yell from outside the tree circle. I got out of my daze and caught up with him. When I got there Percy’s eyes widened and he pushed me out of the way. I fell on the ground again and rolled on my back to see what’s going on. Percy stood there with an arrow imbedded in his upper arm. “Percy!” I shouted in worry. But then I had to roll over because of another arrow. 

I looked up to see a boy from district 1 slowly walking my way with a bow. He was the one who killed the boy with the sword and shot Percy. Anger filled my body and I quickly stood up, just to fall onto my knees when another arrow got fired. I pushed myself up and ran straight at him with Percy’s sword.

He dropped his bow and pulled out a knife. I sliced at his leg and his knife blocked it. Suddenly he had another knife in his other hand. He lunged for my shoulder but luckily I avoided it. 

I took a step back before trying to stab him in the stomach. He used both his knives to protect himself and push my sword away. I got a little worried about if I was skilled enough with a sword to fight him. It was obvious that he was a career. 

After that he attacked me with shocking speed and I did my best to block some of them, but it didn’t matter. I was forced into defense and I was sure that I got gashes all over my body. I was panting hard and I felt that my clothes were wet; if it was from blood or sweat I didn’t know.

The fight abruptly ended when an arrow got slammed into the boy’s head. “I think this belongs to you.” Someone muttered darkly. I looked up, sword ready to fight the next tribute off. It surprised me when I saw Percy standing there glaring at the boy, but there was also a sad glint in his eyes. I thought he was supposed to be lying somewhere on the ground screaming in pain because of his arm. But instead he probably saved my life.

Wait a moment… he got shot. My eyes shot to his arm, I grabbed it and inspected the wound. It was deep, but he was still alive, so not deep enough to kill him. It will kill him though if it doesn’t stop bleeding. 

“Are you okay?” He asked me in concern, his stance a little wobbly and his face looked pale. And still he was worried for me. 

“We have to get out of here, now.” I stated. Ignoring my own pain I scooped him up in my arms and ran away from the battle scene and even further into the woods.

“Wait, Finnick.” Percy muttered weakly. I slowed down to a walking pace and looked down at him. “What is it?”

“Water… head east.” And then he passed out. He just passed out, right? I held him closer to my ear and listened. He was still breathing. I have to get him to a water source, like he told me to. 

So… which way is east? I frowned. Damn it, how did Percy even know that it was east? Then it hit me. His powers. He could tell where the water was because he sensed it. Now I just have to learn it too. I lay Percy down on the ground and sat down next to him while concentrating hard. I felt really stupid, sitting in the middle of the forest with a passed out demigod that almost no one could see, trying to find water just by closing my eyes and concentrating on something.

But it worked, after a while I felt something tingling inside my head that told me exactly where I should go. I opened my eyes carefully, hoping that the feeling wouldn’t leave the moment I stopped concentrating. Luckily it stayed and I carried Percy to a river without any other problems. I walked into the water with him still in my arms, only stopping when I saw that his wound was heeling. And the water helped me too. My skin closed itself and I felt my energy returning. Although I still think it’s a little strange that I didn’t have these powers before, I won’t complain since I only needed it now.

Percy groaned in my arms and I let loose, knowing that he wouldn’t drown. With a yawn he opened his eyes and looked around sleepily. “Finnick? Do you heal in water or not?”

I shook my head in disbelieve and enveloped him in a hug. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” He dismissed it casually when I let him go again. “I’m still alive…”

“But you could’ve died, I nearly thought that you died when you passed out!” Finnick protested, feeling tears gather in his eyes. He blinked them away. “And about that, don’t you ever do that again.”

“You mean passing out?” He asked me confused. “I don’t really think I can control that…”

“No, letting your life depend on something that I maybe can do.”

“What are you talking about, I told you to go east-“ “And you didn’t tell me which way that was!” I interrupted him.

His response wasn’t what I was expecting; he burst into laughter. 

“Don’t laugh at me, I was worried to death!” 

Percy tried to look serious when he saw my hurt look. “I’m sorry, Finnick. I just thought that you would be smart enough to look into the backpack.”

My breath caught in my throat. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” I opened the backpack that was slung over my shoulder and the first thing I saw was a compass.


	7. Finnick doesn’t taste good!

Percy’s P.O.V

After the whole compass incident we decided to stay there for a while, nearby the water. 

“Do you know how many tributes are left?” I asked Finnick. He shrugged in response. I sighed and sat down next to him, feet in the water. “Shall we find something to eat?”

“Let’s unpack the backpack first.” He suggested. I agreed and reached behind me to grab it. 

“Okay, let’s see… rope, throwing knives-“ Finnick suddenly perked up at that. “How many?” 

“Umm…” I dumped the contents of the backpack on the ground. “Three… and also a sleeping bag. Look at that! A Swiss army knife!” I excitedly held up the knife with a broad grin. 

“Great.” Finnick said. 

I frowned at him, was there something wrong? “Are you alright, Finnick?”

He shook his head dejectedly. I put my hand on his shoulder. “What is it?”

He sighed. “You could’ve been dead because of my stupidity.”

I scoffed and gave him a weird look. “Seriously? That’s what got you so sad? It’s not your fault I die on a daily basis.”

“Yes, it is.” He complained. “If it weren’t for me you would still be in your own time period.” 

“Exactly. If it weren’t for you I would’ve been having a dreamless sleep for I don’t know how long.” I reasoned. “Now, shut up and help me put this stuff back into the backpack.” I collected the items and Finnick held the backpack open. 

“Alright then, let’s find some food.” Finnick stated, looking a bit cheerfuller than before.

We went deeper into the woods, collecting berries. Sometimes when we saw animals Finnick would throw a knife at it. He always hit right in the mark and I had to admit that it was impressive. It had started to rain slightly, but we both didn’t mind it at all. Suddenly I stopped walking and Finnick bumped into me. 

“Percy?” he asked in confusion. I concentrated on our surroundings, but I couldn’t find what had alarmed me. I thought that someone moved, but there was nobody except for us. Still, I was on high alert.

“It’s nothing.” I dismissed. No need to worry him if it really was nothing.

He looked unconvinced but nodded. We continued our search for food, making sure to not lose each other.

“Finnick, is this edible?” Without turning around I held up a green berry with black dots on it that was bigger than most other berries. I waited for a response but I didn’t get one. However, I did hear some muffled sound that made me worry enough to face him. 

“Finnick!” My eyes widened at the sight of Finnick’s upper body being stuck in a huge green plant with black dots. I let the berries drop and ran up to him, sword at a ready to cut the plant. “Let go of him!” I shouted at the plant, and don’t call me a plant whisperer.

It didn’t listen. Instead Finnick screamed something that I didn’t catch. ‘Say it again.’ I told him.

‘Get me out of this thing!’ He panicked.

I rolled my eyes. ‘No shit, Sherlock. What do you think I’m trying to do here?’ 

I swung my sword at it and the blade struck the plant low enough to not hit Finnick, but it didn’t get through the plant. I paled and tried it again. And again. 

I threw the sword on the ground in frustration and pulled out Riptide. Even my beloved sword couldn’t get through a stupid Finnick-eating plant!

‘Percy, what is taking you so long!’ Finnick complained loudly in my head, trying to give me a headache. 

‘The plant won’t die!’ I exclaimed and gritting my teeth. 

‘What?!’ Finnick started trashing around even wilder than before, he almost kicked me in the face. 

‘Calm down, Finnick!’ I ordered, trying to sound calm myself. ‘Tell me what happened, maybe that helps.’ 

I could imagine him scowling at me now. ‘I was looking for some berries when I got attacked by this black hole of a plant!’

‘And you managed to get eaten…’ I rolled my eyes at our luck. ‘Do you see something in there that could help you escape?’ 

He went silent for a moment and I was worried that he ran out of oxygen and died. But then he responded. ‘Not exactly, I think that maybe the plant is venomous. Is that even possible?’

I gulped. ‘Eh, don’t worry about it. You’re not stuck in the poison, are you?’

‘Well, actually… I think I am.’ He tried to stay cool, but I could tell that he was freaking out. I grabbed a hold of his legs, frantically trying to pull him out and ignoring his comment of: ‘Oh, and now you start pulling!’ 

He didn’t move an inch and deep down we both knew it. ‘Percy, stop. It’s not working.’ Finnick sounded defeated. Anger bubbled up in me and I pulled even harder. ‘Percy!’ He said with a stern voice, but also a bit in pain. I let go of him and balled my hands into fists.

‘What should I do then, Finnick? I’m not going to sit by while you get poisoned or eaten by a dam plant!’ I punched the plant and immediately regretted it since its skin was like iron. The pain quickly faded away because of the rain, though.

‘Calm down, Percy.’ I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. 

Out of nowhere a plan formed inside my head. ‘Finnick, can plants drown?’

‘What? No, they can’t.’ He replied ridiculed. 

I groaned, why don’t my plans work like I want them to? Wait… Plants contain water. And if Finnick is right, there is poison too, although I’m not so sure that I can control that out here. But the water must be enough to cause an explosion from the inside. Just like with the Nemean Lion, its skin is like iron, but the inside is vulnerable. 

‘Brace yourself.’ I told Finnick, not explaining my genius plan. I concentrated hard on the plant, more specifically the water. I heard the water bubbling inside of the plant. ‘What are you doing?’ Finnick asked me suspiciously. ‘Nothing.’ I said with an innocent voice, still concentrating. Then I heard a sound of a balloon popping, but then much harder. I got blasted away by the shockwave and fell backwards on the ground. 

“Percy, what have you done!” Finnick shouted from somewhere above me. Dazed I opened one eye carefully, closing it again as a slimy liquid landed on my face. I wanted to groan, but luckily I changed my mind, otherwise my mouth would’ve been full of slime too.

I raised a hand up to my face and wiped most of it away. The rain helped too. I sat up and saw that almost everything was covered in green slime. “Finnick?” He was nowhere to be seen, but I swore that I heard him after the explosion.

“Up here!” I looked up, but got blinded by another load of slime falling from the tree I sat under. 

Wiping it of again I stood up to get away from the slime-covered tree. I found the sword that I had thrown away in frustration and picked it up. “What are you waiting for, Finnick, come down here!” 

“I’m trying, but I’m not used to climbing trees!” He shouted down. 

“You don’t have to climb it, just let gravity do it’s work.”

“I’d rather not break my neck, but thank you for the advice, Percy.” 

I rolled my eyes at his response. “Just fall down and I will make a water pillow under the tree for you! Trust me.”

“Okay, here I go!” My eyes widened, not expecting him to actually do it the moment I suggested. Oh gods, he is already falling!

I extended my arms and willed all the water I could find to collect under the tree. And that was a lot, thanks to the rain.

Finnick landed with a big splash and sank to the bottom of the water pillow. I let it drop again and ran up to him. “Are you okay?”

He slowly nodded. “Yeah, think so. From now on we need to be careful with those plants.”

I nodded in agreement. “How about we find shelter for the night and get some rest while we can.”

As if someone decided to get us going the rain started to pour even harder and dark clouds gathered above us. Finnick also noticed it. “I think the Gamemakers want to get rid of that slime as much as I do.” 

“Let’s get going-“ a flash of light blinded me and at the same time the tree we were standing under got struck by lightning. I have to admit that at the moment I was kinda grateful for Thalia zapping me so much that I got used to it a bit. But Finnick clearly wasn’t used to it. He grabbed his head, maybe to block out the loud sound of thunder, maybe because we were so close to the lightning, maybe both. Whatever his reason was, we had to get away from the storm.

I grabbed Finnick’s arm and pulled him away from the tree. Only then did I notice the smell of smoke and the incredible heat. I looked up and saw that the upper-half of the tree was on fire. A branch fell of but wasn’t even close to hitting us. However, it was enough to let the fire spread even more, and soon we had to run for our lives.


	8. The Early Bird

**Finnick’s P.O.V**

The heat of the fire was burning against my skin, making it feel like I was also on fire. All I saw was moving colors. Red, orange, yellow, constantly shifting through the wall of trees that kept surrounding us. The thick fog made it even harder to see. I only knew where Percy was because of our connected hands. My free hand pushed away all plants that tried to stop, or eat us.

_‘This way!’_ I told Percy and pulled him into the direction of our previous resting place by the water. It was strange, but once I made a connection with the water, I could still feel it in the back of my head. Like an inner water-detector. Whatever the cause may be, it sure as Hades saved my en Percy’s asses. Thunder boomed somewhere behind us as we dove into the water.

I quickly scanned Percy over, looking for burns. All I could detect where a few scratches here and there, but they were already healing in the water.

“We can’t stay here for too long, the Capitol will notice.” Percy warned me.

“In that case we must stop the fire without drawing attention to the water.”

“Splash battle?”Percy suggested. “We can limit our powers a bit so it looks like we’re just splashing the water on the fire.”

“A splash battle it is.” I grinned. Despite the grave situation, Percy still managed to make me smile.

Percy easily put out the fire on his side, but I had a hard time using my new found powers. “Some help over here?” I asked him, still throwing water over the fire.

“Sure.” With just a wave of his hand the water spat up continuously, slowly putting the fire out.

And then suddenly the night sky turned dark, making it look like it was night already. “What just happened?” Percy asked me.

“I think that it’s night.” I stated the obvious.

“I know,” Percy rolled his eyes. “but why so sudden?”

“The game makers control everything in here, the weather, the light…” I summed up, not liking their total control the slightest. “It’s night when they want it to be night.”

“But… how? I mean, they can’t really control the weather, right?” Percy asked in confusion, a cute frown marring his face. “Humans aren’t supposed to have that power.”

“Don’t worry, we’re indoor. As far as I know, we still haven’t found a way to manipulate the nature like that. Sure, we’ve done other things, but we have not controlled the weather.” I reassured him after seeing the distraught look on his face. It must be hard for him, waking up in the future with no knowledge at all about what has changed or stayed the same. I sat down next to the water’s edge, Percy following suit.

My thoughts got interrupted by the familiar Capitol music, suddenly blaring trough the whole arena.

“What the Hades is that?” Percy looked at the clear black sky, that wasn’t so clear anymore.

I followed his gaze upwards, “Those are the dead tributes. Each night the gamemakers tell us who died.” 

“Wait, isn’t that Alice?” Percy asked me. My eyes widened, and sure enough, it was Alice. “Oh gods, what happened to her?”

I heard Percy counting the dead tributes. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. There are ten dead tributes.”

I nodded, recalling their faces and districts. “District 1, 2, 4, 6, 6, 7, 10, 10, 11 and 12.” I frowned, how strange, it’s uncommon for the first four districts to lose almost half their number. “Well, at least we won’t have to kill them anymore.”

Percy scoffed, “That’s an interesting way of looking at things. I am going to kill president Snow if I ever get the chance.”

“And I’ll be at your side, holding him down.” I grinned slightly.

“Can he see me when I kill him?”

I chuckled, “I sure as Hades hope so, he will piss his pants from the glare you’ll be sending him. But anyway, I have to ask you something more serious.”

“What?” Percy looked at me.

“At the horn, the girl from district 12 threw a spear at you. Do you know if she is good at throwing spears and saw you, or if she was just aiming for someone else and it tragically missed?” I asked him with a grave tone, if she could see through the mist she could become very dangerous.

“Oh gods, she is incredible with a spear.” Percy looked worried

I frowned, just what I’d feared. “What can we do? I mean, she must be very suspicious of us now, she saw us two on just one platform.” As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I blushed.

Percy coughed, “Uh, speaking of the platform… can we talk about the kiss?”

I noticed he also had a blush on his face. “Err, yeah. Sure, so what about it?” I tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible.

“Did you enjoy it?” He asked me curiously.

I almost died of embarrassment. “Depends… did you?”

“Uh, yeah.” Percy looked at me waiting for my answer. Seeing that he wouldn’t get one he blurted out. “I mean, I would like a repeat, but only if you want to, of course…”

My face couldn’t turn more red than it was now, “I think… that I would like that very much.”

Percy burst into a bright smile. “Great!”

I also smiled. “Yeah…”

It was silent for a moment as we just stared into each other’s eyes. It was a bit uncomfortable, to be honest. We were sitting a few feet from each other, next to the lake. Not moving, not speaking. Just staring

Eventually, Percy broke out of his stupor. “So, er… about that kiss that we were going to repeat…”

“Oh, you mean… now?” I asked him, pleasantly surprised.

Percy came closer to me, he looked at me for permission, I nodded. And just like that, our lips once again touched, and it was just as amazing as the first time. Maybe even better, now that I knew that my feelings were returned. I don’t know how long we kissed but it didn’t matter. Not at all.

After a few moments, he pulled away. I looked into his eyes, they were sea green, as always, but this time I saw something in his eyes that surprised me. Love. He smiled gently, and pulled me in for another kiss.

All too soon, it ended. I snuggled up to him, my back against him. “You know,” I sighed sadly. “This isn’t really the best time to get a boyfriend…”

I felt his breath tickle trough my hair. “You’re right. But at least I’m not another tribute.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips. “Can’t argue that.”

“You know, we haven’t had dinner yet.” 

“Forget dinner, I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep early. You know what they say, the early bird…”

“Gets shot?” Percy suggested, sounding a bit lost.

I laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Well… it sounded logical to me. I mean, if there were hunters, than they’d notice the early bird sooner than the rest because he came first.” Percy tried to explain himself. I had to admit, I could understand his reasoning. Nonetheless, I laughed at him.

“The early bird catches the worm, Percy. That’s the phrase.” I turned around, steeling another kiss from my adorable boyfriend.

Percy ended the kiss. “Well, if you want to be the early bird, we’ll have to get to sleep instead of kissing.”

I blushed. “I’ll get the sleeping bag.” 

I leaned over Percy, grabbing the backpack from where Percy had left it after extinguishing the fire. Zipping it open, I pulled out the sleeping bag. “Er, we only have one.” I blushed, sharing a platform was on the verge of awkward and okay, but sharing a tiny sleeping bag?

Percy chuckled, obviously knowing what I was thinking. “Don’t worry, I was already planning on sleeping in shifts. Just to be sure that no one gets murdered in their sleep, you know?”

“Right,” I coughed, to cover up my embarrassment, “who gets the first shift?”

“I’ll do it.” Percy offered, which didn’t surprise me at all.

“Okay, but don’t forget to wake me up when you get tired.” I told him sternly, hoping that he would not be stubborn enough to stay awake the whole night.

“Just go to sleep, Finnick.”

I sighed but complied, too tired to rebel. And after all, the sleeping bag looked really warm and comfy, despite its presence in the hunger games.

“Hey, Percy.”I said, after I got comfortable. “What do you think the viewers at home saw? I know you said that the Mist would cover it up, but what exactly will they see?”

“Mostly bullshit. For instance, my sword turned into a baseball bat. And my huge hellhound turned into a poodle.” He told me casually. “Who knows, maybe they’ll still see and hear you talk, but think that you’re going crazy.”

“That would be horrible.” I frowned. “That won’t result in many sponsors, will it?”

“I don’t think so, though it would be awesome if it did.”

“Do I have to keep our conversations inside my head, then?” I asked him, displeased.

He shook his head, hand reaching out to play with my hair. “Why bother, they’ve either already seen you do it, or they never will.”

Percy leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss against my head. “Don’t worry about the Capitol or everyone else too much, the Mist is a powerful thing.”

I let myself relax, closing my eyes and letting sleep take over.

_I was in a forest, but something seemed a little bit off about it. It was completely silent, not a single bird was singing. No wind was rustling through the leaves. No tiny footsteps from tiny animals. I moved forward, without really having control over my body. I noticed that the deeper I got into the forest, the thicker the mist seemed to get._

_My body kept walking, until I saw something manmade. A wooden sign. I squinted my eyes at the words, only to find that it was written in another language. Ancient Greek. But to my surprise, I knew what was written there. Camp Half-Blood._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT’S OFFICIAL! THEY’RE DATING!! And yes, Camp Half-Blood ;)


	9. I keep a secret

Percy’s P.O.V.

I didn’t wake Finnick up when it was time for his shift. Nonetheless, he was awake before the gamemakers decided to make it light again. “Percy? How long did I sleep?”

I shrugged carelessly. “Four hours?”

He tiredly rubbed his eyes. “Are you tired?”

“No.” I lied.

Finnick got out of the sleeping bag and walked over to me. Stiffening a yawn he said, “Get some sleep, Perce. You’re useless if you pass out from exhaustion.”

“I won’t.” I stated stubbornly.

“Well, I won’t go to sleep either, so we can just sit here and do nothing or we can use the little time we have to let you rest.” Finnick sternly said.

I rolled my eyes, but the effect was ruined by a yawn. “Fine.” I gave in and grumpily got in the sleeping bag.

The moment my eyes closed I felt myself drift off into dreamland. So maybe I was more tired than I thought I was…

The house was of decent size. Sea-related decorations were all over the place, making me feel right at home. I had, of course, already seen all of this before. This is Finnick’s house. A delicious smell came from the kitchen. As in a trance I followed the smell. A woman I had never seen before was cooking dinner, humming silently to herself. I tried to get a good look at her face, but she was moving too fast. Her movements that of an experienced cook. Was this Finnick’s mother? Her hair color matched his, but that was the only similarity I was able to spot.

Still, she had to be Finnick’s mom, who else could she be?

I heard a voice in my head: “Stupid mortals, don’t even have the power to kill another mortal without my help.”

Alarmed by the words, I looked around for the source of it. A horse. Just outside the building. It wasn’t a normal horse, though. It spoke of mortals, which meant it knew of the existence of immortals… The door got kicked in. Suddenly the horse was inside, flames blowing from his nose like breath on a really cold day. I had seen such a creature before, at the Triple G Ranch. An ordinary looking man was sitting on the horse. Ordinary except for the translucent skin. If I hadn’t seen far worse things in my life as a demigod, I would’ve thrown up. I mean it. He looked like one of the skeleton warriors with a glow around him where skin should have been.

Finnick’s mom screamed. It didn’t help the situation, but it was the obvious thing to do.

“Tell me where your son is!” he yelled at her, hoping she would hear it over her own screams.”Tell me and you’ll live!”

“Never!” She shrieked back at him, throwing the nearest thing, which was a spatula, at his head.

Bull’s eye. The man yelped and clutched his left eye in pain. “Di immortales, thanks to you I’m going to have to wear an eye patch for the rest of my already ended life!”

Finnick’s mom didn’t react to his whining and instead did the wise thing, she fled.

“Don’t waste your time standing around, chase her!” The man complained to his horse, still grabbing his eye and because of it almost falling of the horse when it moved. “Thanks for the warning, you disgusting creature!”

“You f*cking son of a b*tch, I’m not your f*cking slave!” The horse reared angrily. The man, completely unprepared for it, fell on his back. Hard. And the horse kicked him in the private parts for good measure, before running off to find Finnick’s mom. “Resurrected humans, think they’re almighty just because they get a second chance at life. Probably still believes he can sing,” The horse muttered under his breath. “I’ll just do it myself then.”

* * *

I woke up panting. The death of Finnick’s mother… it was supposed to be Finnick instead. His mother died protecting him, I realized. Should I let Finnick know? He had a right to know, but telling him would only result in him blaming himself for something that lay completely out of his hands.

“Hey, you alright?” Finnick asked me in concern. “That didn’t look like a nice dream you had.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I admitted. “But I’m okay now.”

Finnick sat down next to me and I lay an arm around him. “I have them too, you know?” Finnick said. “Bad dreams. Ever since my mom died. I keep seeing new ways how she died. Sometimes it’s my fault. I know she died in a fire, but that’s not always what I see in a dream.”

I held him just a little tighter. “You didn’t have to tell me that if you didn’t want to.”

“I know.” He turned his head to face me. “But I wanted to.” He leaned in for a soft kiss on the lips.

“You want to tell me about your dreams?” Finnick asked.

I hesitated before I shook my head. “No. Not yet.”

For a single moment hurt passed over Finnick’s face before he carefully hid it under his mask. “Okay. I’m here for you when you’re ready to talk. You know that, right?”

I grabbed his hand with my free one and looked him in the eye. “I know,” I told him, and I hoped he believed me.

We sat there for a few minutes before Finnick spoke again. “It’s already morning, we should get up.”

I sighed but complied nonetheless. “Of to find the mysterious district twelve girl,” I groaned. “Where are we supposed to start?”

“Let’s go back to the cornucopia. I saw a huge tree overlooking the whole arena.” Finnick suggested.

“Yeah, but how do we get there? Didn’t Mags say that the horn was always claimed by the volunteers?” I recalled.

“Yes… yes she did.”

“But we’re still going there,” I stated with a smirk. “Of course we are.”

Finnick smirked back at me. “You know me so well, Percy.”

We quickly packed the few things we had and left the campsite.


	10. Girls are strange

Finnick's P.O.V.

It all happened by accident. Soon after we'd set out we ran into some monsters. The Four Mares of Diomedes, Tracey had called them.

It all started going wrong when I almost died. Of course, Percy saved me by catching the spear inches from my face. That would be the… fifth time he saved me? I really have to repay him sometime, saving him once just isn't enough. Anyway, he saved me again. "Who threw this?" Percy had shouted angrily.

"I did," a girl's voice answered. "And I would very much like it if you gave it back." She jumped out of a small tree, landing softly on the leaves below.

"Percy, that's the girl from district twelve. Now that I see her face  
I remember her name again. Tracey Hawks, 15 years old." I whispered, eying the brunette girl with suspicion.

"Shall I throw it back at you, then?" Percy scowled.

"She's not supposed to be able to see you…," I reminded him.

"Ha! I knew it!" Tracey exclaimed. "You're not a candidate. Who are you then? Why are you here?"

"Like Hades I'm going to tell you after you tried to kill Finnick." The son of Poseidon shot her a death glare worthy of Hades himself.

She moved forward as she spoke, "Because it's against the rules to be here if you're not a participant of the game."

"Yeah, well, what are you going to do about it?" I finally said, not liking the way she tried to threaten Percy.

Tracey shrugged. "I could kill you."

"With what? Your spear?" Percy mocked, aiming her own spear at her.

Suddenly she came rushing at us, pulling a hidden knife out of her boot while running.

I jumped out her way like she was a rampaging bull. Meanwhile Percy calmly stepped sideways and swept Tracy off her feet with the spear.

She fell face forward into the mud, her arms flailing around her as she fell. I couldn't help it. I laughed.

Percy flashed me a proud grin.

Tracy rolled over with a groan. "Okay, I'm never putting my knife in my boots again. It slows me down too much." She sat up, wiping at her face with her jacket.

Percy pointed the spear at her throat. "Have you told anybody else about me?"

She stared cross-eyed at her spear with a look of longing and fear. "No, I haven't. No one would listen to me anyway. I don't have any allies or friends here. Or at home, for that matter."

Percy fixed her with cold eyes before he turned to me and whispered, "What are we going to do with her? I don't want to kill her."

"I know, right? She's just too pathetic to hate…," I sighed

"Um, hello? You're not whispering soft enough, I can still hear you!" Tracey whined.

I shot Percy a look that said, 'you see?' before I knelt next to her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Percy's grip on the spear tighten. "If we let you go, do you promise you won't tell anyone about… my friend?"

"Will you give me my spear back? Without it I'm as good as dead, as you can see," she pleaded. Tracy smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes at me.

Weirded out by her behavior I couldn't find my words. "I- er… I'm not so sure if…. I am already taken, by the way…"

She pouted. "Oh, really? Where is she then?"

"HE, is currently holding a spear aimed at your throat," Percy growled. "Back off, girl."

Tracey stared up at him with a judging look. Then she chuckled. "Well, if you ever change your mind… you know where to find me, if I'm still alive." She smiled at Percy.

I was lost. "Wait, are you flirting with Percy now?"

"Unless you are interested after all."

"What's wrong with you?" Percy asked ridiculed.

"Well, I'm not quite sure. My parents used to say I'm unique. Others just call me crazy." She shrugged.

'I smell demigods, my brothers.'

'Shut it, Xanthos.'

"Percy, I hear voices." I warned.

"I hear them too." Percy replied.

" I don't," Tracey interjected. "But I think I know who you heard. Must be the owners of those horses…"

I spun around. Sure enough, there were four horses. The first one on was gold with yellowish manes. Next to him was a horse you would see in nightmares, completely midnight black and a terrifying glare. The third one was his opposite. He was so white it was like watching the sun, so I quickly moved on to the last. A plain brown one with black manes.

The problem was, there were no other humans in sight. Percy and I must've heard the horses.

'Over there!' the third one neighed.

'We have eyes too, Lampon,' the black one snorted.

"Good horses." I said, slowly backing up. Something about them gave me the creeps. Maybe the fact that they knew what a demigod is, or just them being in the arena of the hunger games… Either way, I didn't want to find out just why they were here. "Stay there. Yeah, that's it… What a beautiful horses you are."

"Finnick, I think you're only angering them," Percy warned me.

'Get em!' the black one ordered. As one they stormed at us.

Percy pushed the spear in Tracey's unsuspecting hands and pulled out Riptide. Automatically we stood back to back with each other, Tracey somewhere awkwardly at our side. They surrounded us before attacking. They dealt out blows with their legs and tried to bite us. I fended them off as much as I could with only two throwing knives, but Percy's sword and Tracy's spear were much more effective.

"What kind of horses are these?" I complained.

Surprisingly, Tracey knew the answer. "The Mares of Diomedes."

"They're girls?"

"Naturally. The black one is called Deinos, the Terrible. Then you have the brown horse, Podargos the Swift. The white mare is Lampon the Shining. And there is Xanthos the Yellow," Tracey explained. "They're flesh-eating horses. Some say they breath fire, too."

"Fire-breathing horses?" Percy asked in shock.

"Flesh-eating. I'm not sure about the fire."

'Actually, we can't do that. But our friends can.' The Yellow (what a horrible name) said as she lunged for my head. I ducked and slashed upwards, making a cut just below her eye.

Just as I thought things couldn't get worse, I heard more voices. Humans, this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of just a typo, candydates really should become a thing


	11. Knowledge is power

Percy's P.O.V.

'Well, dam it,' I thought as the careers showed up. The remaining four, Lissa Grills from one, the boy, Glammor Tipps, from district two and Poriona and Tyrone Locke from three. 'Great'

'Just amazing,' Finnick replied. The four mares noticed too. 'Hey, Xanthos,' the brown one (Podgus?), said.

'Yeah, I see them Podargos.'

'Why don't the two of us take care of them while the Terrible and the Shining kill these three.'

They're splitting up! I fought hard to hide a smile. Even I am not stupid enough to make a plan like this. They stood no chance at all as they were outnumbered. Maybe the careers can do something good for once and kill the horses for us.

Two of them went over to the Careers, who cried out in alarm before taking out their weapons.

The white and black ones remained, but with three against two it was an easy fight to win.

Finnick and I, oh, and Tracey too, fought side by side to defeat the mares, who, for the record, couldn't breathe fire. Thank the gods for that. Wait, no I take that one back. Most likely they are the reason those mares exist in the first place…  
But, since my father is the one who made horses... Yeah, I'm not really one to talk. I like horses, as long as they don't try to eat me or kill me in some other way.

Lampon and Deinos were dead within a minute. And so were Podargos and Xanthos.

However, this left us with yet another problem.

"Hello," I said with an awkward smile. "It seems like you can see me, dunno how, but…"

I also realized that not only were the Careers seeing me, but they also saw the monsters, although I must admit that they looked like normal horses.

"Who are you?" Glammor demanded, his sword held out in front of him in a threatening kind of way.

"Look, I know you don't know who I am, but I know you…" I winced, this wasn't making any sense and I knew it. "You know?"

"No, we don't," Glammor admitted. "But it doesn't matter because we'll kill you anyway."

As one they leaped forward, but I raised a hand to halt them. "You really don't want to do that, Glammor," I blurted out.

'Hey Percy, what the fuck are you doing?' Finnick questioned.

"Oh? And why is that?" Lissa sneered mockingly.

'Honestly, I don't know. But they've stopped their attack, so I guess it's working.'

"You really want to know?" I asked to give me some more time to think of something. "I am… not a tribute. See? There you have it! I am not a tribute, so you're not allowed to kill me."

For a moment I thought I had them all fooled, but then Tyrone's face brightened. "But, if you're not a tribute, you're not allowed to be here. You are breaking the rules, so it would only be fair If we kill you. Who knows, maybe we'll even get awarded for it."

I cringed, but nodded in acceptance. "Okay, in that case…" I pulled out my normal sword and ran at them with a battle cry that even rivaled Tyson's.

"Finnick, I've got an extra dagger for you." I heard Tracey say before the sound of the battle made it impossible to hear anything else but the clashing of blades and curses.

The careers were great fighters. They might have even been better than the average demigod at camp. And their fighting style was different than the one I am used to, but fortunately I'm quick to adapt. Unfortunately, Finnick and Tracey weren't as good as the careers. Of course Finnick is still learning, and I bet Tracey, coming from district 12, is too.

So it came as a surprise when Finnick managed to disarm the girl from district three. "Poriona!" her brother, Tyrone, cried out in fear. Then rage. I saw it all play out in my head. He was going to throw his trident at Finnick, who was still standing over Poriona's dead body in shock of what he'd done. It would be a perfect hit. Finnick would be dead on impact, a son of Triton killed by a trident.

I couldn't let that happen. So I jumped. The trident hit me. I felt my flesh being penetrated at two spots in my side, the third had barely scraped my skin, but sure made it difficult to get the trident out. I screamed in pain. That seemed to wake Finnick up.

"Percy," he cried out. Finnick grabbed my arm, unbothered by the remaining three careers. Luckily they had stopped fighting already to check Poriona for any signs of life.

"Finnick," I gasped. "Quick, get out of here."

He shook his head. "Not without you." He moved to get the trident out of my body, but I stopped him. "Not now, or I'll bleed to death." As soon as I said it I realized it was true. I was very close to dying. But, I reminded myself, Thanatos isn't hear yet so I've got some time left. I have to get Finnick, and maybe Tracey, to safety first. And then I can die.

"Okay, then we'll take the trident with us too," Finnick said, looking deadly serious. "Can you walk?"

"Kinda."

"Here, I'll help," Tracey said. "Finnick, can you cut a way through the forest so the trident doesn't get stuck?"

I saw Finnick shoot her a look, probably a warning. Then he nodded. "Alright, but we have to go, now."

I looked back at the careers. Honestly, it came as a surprise they hadn't acted yet. But hey, I'm not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth.

Finnick quickly ran forward and started ruthlessly hacking away at bushes and branches. Still, Tracey and I had to go a bit sideways. Had the situation been different I would've made a joke about us walking like crabs, but I figured now was not the time.

"Hey guys, where are the cheaters?" I heard someone shout just as we were out of sight. "They've slipped away!"

Not so much slipping away as calmly walking out on you, I thought.

"Well, don't just stand there, go after them!"

'Finnick, hurry up! We're a bit easy to trail after. Go left, I can sense water!'

Finnick complied, going at an even faster pace. The water turned out to be a small, and dirty, pond. Nonetheless, I dove in straight away. "Climb the tree," I heard Finnick tell Tracey, before he joined me underwater.

'Hey Finnick, can you help me get this damned thing out of my body?' I asked with a grimace.

'Sure thing.' He grabbed the handle. 'A bit ironic that the son of Poseidon almost got killed by a trident.'

I snorted. 'Funny, I was thinking the same thing but it was you, the son of Triton inste-AARG!' I cried out in pain as Finnick pulled.

The trident left my body, but the wound stopped bleeding soon after. 'Sorry, I had to do it while you were distracted.'

I heard the careers shout at each other. 'They're still here, I just know it!'  
'No they're not, look! I can see someone running!'  
'She's right, there's movement over there!'

Footsteps.

Then they were gone.

'You think it's safe yet?' Finnick asked me a few minutes later.

I nodded and we both resurfaced. Tracey was already waiting for us.

I grimaced again, I seemed to be doing that a lot today. "Hi," I said as we stopped in front of her. "Cleary, I am not dead. And I suppose you want an explanation."

She gave me a once-over and shrugged. "Nah, I'm fine not knowing. Glad you're alive."

"Percy!" Finnick suddenly exclaimed. "How is it that all the careers could see you? I thought there was something to keep you hidden?"

I nodded grimly, having also realized what's going on. "It's called the Mist. And it's gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah the names are weird, we were just having fun with them


	12. Mags

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow look at that: a normal chapter title!  
> Enjoy it while it lasts...
> 
> This is a kind of in-between chapter.  
> It, um... It also takes place a few chapters ago? Sorry for that. Hope it still makes sense, if it ever did

Mags' P.O.V.

Relief coursed through me when Finnick jumped into the water. He'd escaped from the fire. But then the worst thing possible happened. After they'd put out the fire, Finnick emerged from the water with Percy. I almost had a heart attack.

Everyone could see this. Usually cameras were affected by the mist so that no one, not even me, could see what really is on the picture. So if I can see Percy, everyone can see Percy. President Snow's not stupid, he knows about demigods.

I watched with horror as Finnick and Percy sat down next to the water to talk. Finnick explained some things, but I wasn't really listening. Until they broadcasted the fallen tributes. As a mentor, it was important to keep track of the tributes, so I focused on the screen again, writing down who'd died. I wasn't surprised to see Alice's face. I'd seen how the poor girl had been killed by the district twelve girl.

Percy and Finnick were doing the same except they were talking instead of writing. I grimaced as Finnick tried to be optimistic, commenting that they wouldn't have to kill those tributes anymore.

Percy scoffed. "That's an interesting way of looking at things. I am going to kill president Snow if I ever get the chance."

"Percy!" I exclaimed in shock. The poor boy, he didn't know we were watching him!

Then Finnick's reply made me facepalm: "And I'll be at your side, holding him down."

"Drop the subject, Percy," I pleaded with him. "Don't make yourself an even bigger target."

Percy unfortunately didn't drop the subject, "Can he see me when I kill him?"

Finnick chuckled, "I sure as Hades hope so, he will piss his pants from the glare you'll be sending him."

I sighed. I guess I'll have to clean up their mess for them. That's what a good mentor would do.

I closed my eyes and prayed, "Hestia, goddess of the Hearth, Home and Family. Please help me save those two young, foolish, idiotic demigod boys from the wrath of the Capitol."

My eyes stayed shut until I felt another presence enter the room. I immediately felt more at ease in her presence.

"Hestia, my old friend," I welcomed her. "I'm sure you know why I called you here?"

"Two of my favorite demigods are in danger," The goddess shook her head fondly. "Oh, and you'd probably like to watch the screen again. Believe me, you don't want to miss this." She smiled as she settled down on the couch next to me.

Percy coughed, "Uh, speaking of the platform… can we talk about the kiss?"

Kiss…

"Err, yeah. Sure, so what about it?" Finnick said.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Did Finnick kiss someone? Which district?" I asked Hestia concerned. The last thing we needed was star-crossed-love.

She shook her head and motioned for the television again.

"Depends…," Finnick said awkwardly. "Did you?"

"Wow, what?" I exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah." Percy admitted with a small blush. "I mean, I would like a repeat, but only if you want to, of course…"

Finnick's head looked like a tomato when he responded, "I think… that I would like that very much."

Percy grinned stupidly. "Great!"

But so did Finnick. "Yeah…"

Oh gods, this is sooo awkward. "They're kind of cute together," I mused.

Hestia nodded triumphantly. "I've always known Percy was gay!"

I laughed.

"So, er… about that kiss that we were going to repeat…" Percy began.

"Right now?" I asked.

"Oh, you mean… now?" Finnick asked.

Percy moved closer to him. Then they were kissing. I felt a bit uncomfortable spying on them like this, but I knew that everyone else was doing the same.

And they repeated the action.

"Okay, I think I've seen enough." I said, turning to Hestia again. "But the reason you're here, I don't know what to do,

"President Snow wants them dead. No one is going to sponsor them anymore and without money I can't help them. They'll need all the help they can get if they want to survive an angry Coriolanus Snow."

Hestia nodded. "You know what happened to District thirteen, right?"

"Yes, it was all over the news. Plus they show it each year. Why?"

"They lied. District thirteen still exists because the gods protected it from the bombs," Hestia explained. "Almost all of the demigods today the day live there. They're hiding and training."

"What about the monsters?"

"They can't find them there. It's protected. From the Capitol as well. Mount Olympus is also located above it," Hestia said. "But the point is, they can give you money. Act as secret sponsors."

"That sounds great, but how do I find them?" I asked.

"Don't worry, they'll find you."


	13. Percy Jackson and the Tentacle Monster of Doom

Finnick's P.O.V.

It was a cold and misty evening. Actually, it was afternoon, but the gamemakers liked their epic battles dark and gloomy. Anyway, it was misty. Which is why I was surprised to hear that the mist was gone. "Capital M, Mist," Percy told us. Correction, the Mist was gone.

"It probably disappeared last night, cause Tracey has been able to see me right from the start," Percy reasoned.

"What does this Mist do?" Tracey asked. She seemed remarkably calm despite our present situation.

"It's supposed to cover the magical things up. Those horses, for instance, but it should have covered me up too."

"But does this mean that the Capitol knows you are here?" I worried. "President Snow is going to do something, you understand that right?"

"Of course."

Finnick wasn't sure Percy really understood how much power president Snow truly had. The whole Capitol Army stood behind him, and the gamemakers not to forget. If he wanted to, he could just barge in here and kill Percy himself.

'Stop worrying, Finnick. We both know Snow cares too much about his stupid games to make a too blatant try to kill me. He's already angry that I'm here, but he won't let the viewers at home know this. They can't find out that I came here against the will of the Capitol.' Percy shot him a glance.

'You may be right, but he still wants you dead. The gamemakers can make it look like an accident."

"Then we'll just have to be extra careful." The son of Poseidon smiled encouragingly.

Tracey frowned. "Did I just miss something? There certainly was something going on between you."

I shook my head.

"Let's just move forward, it's no use stressing over spilt milk." Percy said. "Tracey, are you coming with us?"

"Yeah, if you promise not to stab me in the back." She pondered inside her head for a moment. "Hmm, never thought I would need to say that in the literal sense."

"I've been thinking," I started saying. "We just keep on the move, but where are we heading? Are we just surviving or are we planning to find some other tributes?"

"You mean, hunt them down?" Tracey stated boldly.

"Are we going to?" I pushed.

"So far we've only accidentally bumped into others, but if you want we can go look for them. Think you can stomach killing some other tributes?" Percy asked.

"I…" I sighed. "We'll have to if we want to win, won't we? I've trained for this, not as much as the careers, but I can fight with the trident. Maybe it's time to face reality now. If we're ever going to get out of this alive, we have to seek them out."

"Oh, my god! You really want to hunt them down?" Tracey exclaimed. "That's so exciting!"

"Tracey, please." Percy shook his head.

She didn't stop. Tracey was on a roll. "No, hear me out. Why don't set up some traps around the woods. In places like, water storages, the cornucopia and anywhere else we can think off. We can hang up some nets in the trees or whatever."

"But how can we check every trap once they've been set up. We can't split up, and we can't leave them to die. We have to think of an alarm system of sorts," I put in.

"It won't work. It's impossible to keep track of all the alarms, even if we managed to do it. We won't know which of the alarms is ringing. We should think smaller," Percy said.

"Smaller as in less traps, or smaller as in closer together?" Tracey asked.

"Both," he answered. "Weave some out of vines or whatever, and hang them all up around the cornucopia. Remember that ring of trees? It's perfect for a trap. And if it doesn't work, at least we'll have some place to set up camp."

"Do you think there might still be some supplies left in the horn of plenty?" I wondered.

"Probably not, if there were, the careers would still be hanging around there. But they aren't as we saw them just an hour ago," Tracey reasoned. "But still, we can find some shelter from the wind."

"Sounds like a plan!" I said. "Let's get busy collecting vines."

"Wait, you guys actually know how to weave nets out of vines?" Percy exclaimed.

"Sure, don't you?" Tracey scoffed.

"Eh, no. It' not exactly a very useful craft to master."

"Well, it comes in handy now, doesn't it? Besides, district four is all about fishing, so nets are fundamental to our survival. District twelve, however…" I trailed, not sure why Tracey knew how to weave nets, but I just wrote it off as some strange Tracey-thingy.

We tore down every vine we could find. Percy carried them all, making him look like some tentacle monster. "At least it's not seaweed," was all Percy said about it. We cut vines until they formed a heap even bigger than Percy himself.

It took us until it was actually evening to get it all done. By that time, we all agreed that it would be wise to rest for a while, before we headed for the horn. We sat down on some charred grass, staring out into the dark forest. The vines lay somewhere nearby.

"How long do you think these games are going to last?" I asked.

"Homesick already?" Tracey teased.

"Aren't you?" I remarked.

"My life at home wasn't that great. Sure, I want to get out of here, but I don't want to go back to District Twelve again."

I stayed silent. Only one tribute will live to see their district again. We all knew it. Befriending Tracey won't be our best move, but what other options are there? If we are to work together, we must get along first. And in between all the weirdness that was Tracey Hawks, she was just like me in a way. Both of us have been plucked from the crowd, both of us know we have to kill the other in the end. And I like to imagine that both of us weren't looking forward to it.

I felt Percy's hand touch mine softly and I grasped it. He squeezed. 'I know what you're thinking,' he said.

I nodded. I, in return, knew what he had been thinking. 'I don't want you to leave, after the games are over. You can stay in District Four with me, if you want to, I mean.'

'I wish I could, really. But I already know the gods won't allow it. They had the power to send me here, they also have the power to take me back.'

'Will they still send you back, knowing you want to stay here?'

'Well, they have to at some point. I can't stay in the future forever. This is your world, not mine.'

He squeezed my hand again, though it wasn't as reassuring as the one before this conversation had been.

"I'm missing out on things again, aren't I?" Tracey sighed. "Why can't you guys include me in your conversations?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you hadn't noticed, at this point we'd both completely forgotten about where we were heading with the story and what had already been written. Hopefully it isn't too inconsistent.


	14. Disco Boogie Woogie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To quote the original AN's:  
> "We won't Apollo-gize for our delayed chapter. We need to get this chapter done. NO promises about future chapters. Happy reading :) TARDIGRADE.
> 
> Disclaimer: It's all ours, except for what's not ours. Which we hope you can figure out. Hakuna matata, alohomora.
> 
> WARNING: This chapter may be slightly cracky and wacky. It may not follow canon, and it may not follow our fanon. We wrote the last chapter 2 years ago so don't blame us. And we didn't keep any useful notes. Just notes about Percy and Finnick :p
> 
> Friggin flygin pigs."
> 
> I swear that we were both of sound mind when writing this.

Percy's P.O.V.

After what felt like two years' worth of net-weaving, the plan was finally ready to be executed. Executed. Not a very inappropriate word given the circumstances. Quite fitting, actually. We were, after all, setting up a trap to capture and kill the other tributes.

During all the preparations I couldn't shake the feeling of utter wrongness. It was too close to cold-blooded murder for my taste. But I have to get Finnick out of here alive and the Capitol has given us no choice. President Snow, has given us no choice.

With the nets in place, we went and found some shelter nearby. We waited. What felt like six hours went by, although Tracey may say that it had only been two at max, when we heard a canon go off. Eleven dead. Not too long after this we heard screams. "That must be our catch of the day," Tracey said with a manic grin.

We checked all the traps we set, and of course the screams came from the last net we checked. There were two people caught in the net, tangled up in each other and struggling to reach their weapons. "We best do this fast," I said, trying to steel myself for what was about to happen next.

Finnick nodded. "Who's doing the honours?"

"I'll do it, you cowards," Tracy said, trying to sound casual. She cast a look at the two tributes, who had now stilled their struggles. I recognized them, Kelly Logs from district 9 I believe, and a girl called Satin who is from district 8.

Tracey raised her spear, ready for the killing blow, and then lowered it again. I saw the tightness with which she was holding it and knew that she wasn't as unaffected as she would have us belief. That's when it became clear to me that I had to be the one to do it.

Tracey took a step closer, her jaw set tight with determination and raised her spear again. "Stop," I said. Putting my hand over hers, the one holding the spear.

"Whoever is going to do it, just make it quick and be done with it," Satin said from within the net. A pang of guilt hit me again.

"It's okay," I told Tracey nonetheless.

She handed me her spear, with visible relief in her eyes. "Let's get this over with," I pushed the spear upwards and… I did it. I did it as fast as I could and without thinking. And then I did it again. The sound of two canon shots rang in the background, marking the end of another two lives. Thirteen dead. Finnick put a hand on my shoulder in silent support. There were no words for what had been done and he knew it. I handed Tracey her spear back, letting her wash the blood off.

The sky suddenly turned pitch black. Seemed like the gamemakers were getting impatient once again. We went back to where we had been hiding by the river. Knowing them and their tricks, we remained vigilant, keeping everything close by and standing guard in shifts. Tracy was the one officially on guard duty right now, but I was unable to sleep so I pretended to not be tired. She probably saw right through my lie, though.

This evenings' death announcement showed the faces of the two girls who would be haunting my dreams, along with another boy from district 5 whose name was, apparently, Flash Sparky. Then the announcement was over, and the forest turned dark and quiet once again, but for Finnicks light snoring.

The peaceful forest sounds were rudely interrupted by this weird animal screech, followed by a flapping noise. I shot upright, waking Finnick up as I went. I searched for the source of the sound, squinting my eyes into focus.

"There, in the trees!" Tracey shouted. I looked up and saw red eyes staring back at us, shrouded within the darkness of the tree branches. Doing a quick pirouette, I realized to my horror that they were suddenly everywhere.

"We're surrounded," Finnick breathed from my left, raising his weapon. "What are they?"

"Are those… wings?" Tracey remarked. Looking a bit closer, I saw a pinkish figure with white wings protruding from its back. It's face was either hideously disfigured or it had a pig's nose. "Well, I'll be dammed. Pigs can fly now."

"And apparently they also have red eyes." As if they heard my remark, their eyes lit up even more. "I have a bad feeling about this," Finnick said, and he was proven right.

"Duck!" I yelled, while jumping into the river myself. From underwater I could see that the flying pigs were creating a disco in the forest. Resurfacing, I could see all the lasers dancing around setting things on fire.

'Finnick!'

'Behind you,' he responded, pulling me back down underwater. I twisted around, coming face to face with him. 'Where's Tracey?'

'I don't know, but we have to get out of here.'

The sound of a canon rang again. Dread filled the pit of my stomach, had that been Tracey's death? Despite the fact that she was technically a rival, she'd grown on me, and on Finnick as well.

'Tracey?' I heard Finnick in my head.

I shook my head. 'I don't know. But we have to go now.'

The red lights were still flashing above us, along with the flickering light of fire. I could hear the pigs screeching and it sounded angry. 'Let's go,' Finnick agreed and we leapt out of the water. We ran away from the pigs as fast as we could, hacking around us as we went. The pigs were everywhere, although there couldn't have been that many of them. Their wings were a real disadvantage for us. I tried to defend Finnick and me from the pigs flying right at our faces, but I knew that it was getting quite hopeless unless something changed. And quickly.

The fires were still building around us, cutting of our escape routes. The pigs didn't seem deterred by it. Soon we were surrounded by a ring of fire, miraculously dodging all the lasers that were being shot at us.

'Percy!' I heard Finnick. 'Didn't you use to have those water powers? What happened to them, huh?'

'Oh shut up, I don't see you doing any of that either,' I shot back, a bit sheepish I hadn't thought to use them earlier. Everyone, including Snow already knew about us, so why not?

Harnessing my powers, I commanded the water to rise from the riverbend, dousing part of the fire that had been blocking our path back to the river. But the pigs were still attacking us, so I threw some water at them as well for good measure. Turns out water and wings don't get along all that well, and all of a sudden it was raining demon-laser-pigs. Hallelujah. Unfortunately they didn't die on impact, but they were still easier to anticipate and dodge. Still, we had to make a run for it, back to the river.

'Percy, look! There's a trident dropping on a parachute, floating towards the river. That must be from Mags!'

Jumping to the left to avoid yet another death-ray, I briefly glanced upwards between the trees and saw that Finnick was right. A trident was falling from the heavens, or more likely, Olympus. Finnick made a dive for it, grabbing it just before hitting the water. I turned around, hacking at the pigs again, trying to keep them from Finnick while he was vulnerable.

But when he resurfaced, I realized he was anything but vulnerable at the moment. Several projectiles blasted past me, hitting the pigs right in their stubby noses. Ice-shards were now sticking out of them, making some of the pigs turn into the golden monster dust with which I was very familiar.

I turned back around again to face Finnick, jaw wide-open in amazement. He was standing on the now frozen river, Trident in hand and his eyes were glowing. He smirked.


	15. Tides, tuna. Nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hej! Another year, another chapter. BobSaysHelloFromNL now spends most of her time in England, so hopefully there aren't a lot of British words that slipped through the cracks in this chapter.
> 
> And just-make-it-a-good-one-eh has changed her name and decided to learn the legendary language of Ikea. Probably bc of her youtubers smh (Watch more youtube BobSaysHelloFromNL) (I spend half my days on youtube but I watch different people. Mostly americans sadly)(eew mostly americans?)(Yeah just kinda happened).
> 
> If at any point in the story you want to find some closure (maybe you got tired of waiting), just read the following:
> 
> Poseidon created a huge tsunami wiping out everyone except for Finnick and Percy.
> 
> The End!

**Finnick's P.O.V.**

With the newly acquired trident safely in my hand, Percy and I decided it would be best to leave the forest behind us for a while and head for the Cornucopia. Hopefully we wouldn't find any careers waiting for us, weapons at the ready. If we were exceptionally lucky (ha, as if), there might even be some leftover resources there. At the very least we were hoping it would provide us with a good view point of our surroundings.

"Who knows, maybe Tracey might have had the same idea," Percy said optimistically. He was refusing to believe that she might be lying dead in the forest somewhere. Or eaten by the pigs. Or burned to ashes.

I did not really share in his optimism, but as long as we hadn't seen her name in the death announcements, there was still hope. We'd just have to wait till tonight to find out. That is, if we don't meet back up with her before then.

"What do you think President Snow has in store for us next?" I bring up, hoping to divert Percy's mind. "Fire-spewing crabs? Actual dragons? Flesh-eating bacteria?"

Percy grinned. "Or a giant winged snake. Or an exploding rhino!"

I laughed. "Do you think he's listening in on our brainstorming session?"

"If so, he should be paying us! We're creative geniuses! Imagine if we were the gamemakers. The next hunger games could be underwater! And it could have a Disney's The Little Mermaid theme with singing lobsters?

"Percy, you do realise everyone would die within five minutes? Also, I don't know what you're talking about."

Percy gasped dramatically and almost stumbled in his walking. "The future doesn't have Disney?"

"Uhm, no. I don't think so. Is it.. Some kind of gameshow?."

"No it's like children's entertainment, except it's not just for children. It's not, I swear. Don't look at me like that! Disney movies are ageless. And some of the tv shows can be really good as well. Not all, but some."

I just stared at him. It was sometimes easy to forget that Percy came from a different period of time. _'Can you tell me more about where you're from? About the past. What was it like to be free?'_

Percy turned to me with a sympathetic look on his face. _'Honestly, I did not have the most enjoyable childhood in the 'real' world. But I suppose it could have been worse. I went to school and I had a mother who loved me. And once I learned about the gods, I made new friends and went on adventures. Not really because I wanted to, but they did make me into the person I am today so it was all worth it. Oh and not to mention that at least the world is still standing because of it. I hope that doesn't sound too cliched or even worse: braggy.'_

' _You were an only child?'_

He nodded. _'Yeah. Well, actually, not really. I have many half-siblings, including… your father. But maybe let's not think too much about that. Godly sides of the family don't count if you ask me.'_

I frowned. From my limited knowledge on Greek mythology, that seemed wise. My mind was already hurting as it was. _'Alright, yeah forget about it.'_

' _Cool, I won't even mention the animal side of the family,'_ Percy joked. Or was he joking? I probably don't wanna know. Thankfully, we'd already made it to the Cornucopia.

"This place seems deserted," I observed, out loud again. I was half expecting some careers to jump out of the giant metal construction, just to spite me. But they didn't. "Could it be, are the tides finally turning? Is Fortuna gonna be with us?"

"Ha, I see what you did there," Percy said. "Tides, tuna. Nice."

It took me a moment but then I got it. "Yes, so let's go get us prepared before the next wave hits."

"Shore." Percy grinned. We climbed into the Cornucopia. To our surprise, we found some fruits and vegetables lying in a corner. Children and their aversion to healthy foods, we reasoned. Upon closer inspection, the vegetables all turned out to be cucumbers. At least they'd be easy to eat, although they were mostly water. Good thing that we both liked water.

Buried in the small sack of cucumbers was a little matchbox.

"Cucumbers and matches?" I said. "Odd combination."

Percy frowned, deep in thought. "I dunno, sounds familiar to me. I think Annabeth likes Cucumbers and matches. Or something that sounds like it. Cucumbers in batches?"

I shrugged it off as yet another peculiarity of Percy's time. "Let's just take it all with us, who knows."

"Alright, but I don't think we'll be needing any help with starting fires. It seems to be a fan favourite to see their candidates burn."

We put the food and matchbox in our backpack and exited the Cornucopia again.

"Whale I'll be damned," I said, remarking on the grey clouds that had suddenly formed. "I don't think the president liked our puns."

"Yeah, the sky definitely seemed bluer just moments ago," Percy said, the look on his face almost as grim as the sky. "I have a bad feeling about this."

A rumbling sound could be heard in the distance. "Where do you think it's coming from?" I asked Percy.

He shrugged and started climbing the Cornucopia.

"Percy, get off immediately!" I exclaimed.

"I was just trying to get a better view of the arena!" he complained.

"Aren't you supposed to be scared of thunder? Why then would you stand on top of the only metal construction in the whole arena?"

"Well if you put it like that, yeah maybe you're right." He rubbed his head sheepishly.

Lightning flashed. A few seconds later the sound came.

"I think it came from over there," Percy said, roughly pointing back at where we'd come from.

"Okay, so judging from the Cornucopia, I think that's East? So let's head West."

We made a run for it. I slightly envied Percy for having a shrinkable weapon, running with a trident was not the most comfortable experience. Also, my mind supplied, it was like a make-shift lightning rod. Despite our effort to get away from the storm, the rain soon started pouring down on us.

"Is there even a safe place anywhere in the arena? It's either a forest filled with trees, a field with only slightly less trees, the cornucopia or the wet riverside," Percy shouted over the noise.

In between heaving breaths, I responded: "It's just a matter of finding the least bad option. And frankly, I don't know which one that is. And at the moment, the storm should be right above the river so let's not go there. Just keep running and we'll see."

The trees stood sporadically scattered across the field we were in. Up ahead and all around us was the thick forest, and behind us lay the worst of the storm and the Cornucopia.

"Maybe we should head into the forest so the odds are less likely that it will hit the tree we're directly under?" Percy suggested. He seemed at a loss. "Is that what hiding in plain sight means?"

"Does it work like that?" My mind wasn't functioning at its best right now, under pursuit of an artificially created thunderstorm. I wouldn't be surprised if Snow had made the gamemakers conjure it up especially for us. "Maybe we shouldn't have taunted the president."

"What did you just say about the president?" Percy shouted over the wind.

"I said-"

"Were you calling him a clotpole?"

"A what now?"

"I thought that's what you said!"

"Percy, why are we even shouting at each other!?" _'When we can also communicate like this.'_

' _Oh, yeah. Much better. Forest then?'_

' _We're almost there anyway.'_

As we got closer to the treeline, lightning struck a tall tree in the field we'd just passed. It caught fire and swayed dangerously in the wind.

' _Get out of here before it falls!'_ I mentally screamed at Percy. And so the decision was made to go into the forest.

It was dark, what with the clouds blocking most of the light and the treetops blocking most of what was left. Then a sudden flash blinded us, followed immediately by the roaring thunder. The storm had caught up with us.

A movement to the left of us caught my eye. Whatever it was, it was moving in the opposite direction.

The wind roared, singing through the trees. Branches were slapping against each other, falling to the ground to the left and to the right. A loud creak reached our ears, followed by human screams.

I risked a glance behind me, and saw that the treetops had caught on fire. Percy pulled me by my sleeve. _'No time to waste, Finnick.'_ I turned back and we continued traipsing a way through the darkness and the trees. It was no longer just the lightning we were running from.

A cannon shot rang out, almost indistinguishable from the thunder that followed. Another cannon.

I looked back over my shoulder again. That was the moment I tripped. _'Finnick!'_ Percy's voice exclaimed in my head. His hands were on my shoulder, pulling me back up again.

Another flash, another boom. Again it sounded as if it came from right above us, but there was no exact way to tell through the heavy blanket of leaves. A loose branch smacked into my face. I pushed it away using the trident and tried to carry on. But then it appeared to be stuck.

' _Percy, wait.'_ I gritted my teeth, pulling the trident back with all of my weight. It worked! My back hit against the trunk of a tree, but I caught myself. The trident was free.

The next lightning bolt made such a noise it left my ears ringing, and I was even having trouble hearing Percy in my head.

' _Finnick, get away from there! Fire!'_

Disoriented, I searched for him. The forest suddenly seemed a lot brighter and warmer. His worried face appeared right in front of me. _'Finnick, your head's bleeding!'_

' _No it isn't'_ I sluggishly thought back, my hand came up to feel the back of my head. It came back wet, but it was raining, wasn't it? Everything was wet. Except, everything was also on fire.

More thunder… thundered? No it rumbled. And lightning flashed. Shouldn't it be the other way round? Percy was pulling at my arm and I stumbled towards him. He kept moving away and pulling me with him.

The forest was red and gold and black. My clothes were sticky, was it rain or sweat? The fire was nice and warm. And everywhere.

' _Finnick. Finnick!'_ Percy was calling me. _'We're surrounded.'_

I tried to think, but my head hurt. The forest was a mess, fallen trees and burning trees all around us. The trees seemed to be creeping in on us. Or rather, the fire. The trees were on fire. And then we were on fire.

The fire was hot and comforting on my skin. I felt Percy squeeze my hand, also comforting. I looked up at him and he was glowing. A warm golden glow, all around him. I stared at him. His eyes were lit with a flickering seagreen fire. I cupped his cheek. _'Percy, you're on fire.'_

He put his hand over mine. _'So are you. But it doesn't hurt at all. We're not burning.'_

A new voice joined our conversation. It sounded kind and motherly. _'I would never allow either of you to be harmed in any of my hearths. You carry my blessing now, use it to get out of here.'_

' _Hestia!'_ Percy's eyes widened in realisation. _'How are you here?'_

The image of a smile appeared in my mind. _'What is a forest fire, if not a big campfire?'_

And then she was gone. And then it went black for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is! Another yearly update. Bye!
> 
> That was it for the pre-written stuff, so yeah it really is gonna be a year most likely till the next update.


End file.
